Press Release

Preston Singletary: Premonitions of WaterThe show, Premonitions of Water, is a poignant reaction to the battles that are being waged over a most vital resource: water. The works included in this exhibition are based largely on specific Tlingit myths about water but the meaning they convey is universal: our human connection to water is essential.

Singletary says of this new body of work, "this show is a tribute to the water protectors, the Native people and everyone who stood up against the Dakota pipeline; to all those who have added their voice to the fight. Water is life. This is not an exclusively Native perspective, every­one knows this,yet it seems that those who currently have access to power are willing to manipulate the laws and rights of Native people and their lands for the purposes of making money. This year I felt compelledto create new works that reflect beauty and inspiration in the face of the negativity our communityis facing. This provides me with a spiritual focus that connects me to my ancestors, family and community. Native people have persevered throughout history; opposition and persecution is something that many Indigenous people experience on an everyday basis. I'm grateful for the teachings of Patience, Endurance, Courage and Alertness. I was taught that this is where the best human qualities come from."

The works presented here combine the enthusiastic spirit and style of Singletary's early work withan increasingly refined and resonant sense of purpose and voice that is only possible later in an artist's career. We are extremely proud to present this powerful and potent new exhibition ofsculpture by Preston Singletary to you, our collectors and friends.

James Mongrain: InspirationsMongrain's extraordinary mastery of material and facility with Venetian glass technique has earned him a place amongst the great glass artists of the world. Early in his career, his teachers Maestro Lino Tagliapietra and Checco Ungaro, helped guide and influence his inspiration and virtuosity. Today, he leads the glass team at Chihuly Studios where he works directly with Dale Chihuly to create the large-scale masterworks for which Chihuly is so well known.

In Inspirations, the exuberant new exhibition at Traver Gallery, Mongrain presents ten large-scale glass vessels and one towering and functional glass fountain. This body of ornate works extends a series of work that began with a commission by the arts patron, George Stroemple. The Stroemple project was born of a desire to celebrate Mongrain's unique glass-blowing abilities and create a collection that reimagines nineteenth-century blown and hot sculpted glass objects. Mongrain rose to the challenge. The new works, like the vessels that inspired them, include large-scale lidded vessels and goblets that are adorned with iconic mythical creatures such as swans, dolphins, dragons, and seahorses. But Mongrain has breathed new life into these classical objects. By drawing our attention to form, scale, fragility and even absurdity, he brings these opulent historic forms into the world of contemporary art and brings new voice to the elevated design and craftsmanship of the time-honored Venetian glass tradition.

James Mongrain was introduced to glass at Moorhead State University in Minnesota, and later studied glassblowing at Massachusetts College of Art and the Appalachian Center for Crafts. He has worked with Jim Dine, Kiki Smith, Jeff Koons, Robert Wilson, and Walter Lieberman. He has been a nominee for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award and exhibits nationwide. Mongrain has been a gaffer at Chihuly Inc. since 1998 and has work in the George Stroemple collection.

Mongrain's current exhibition, Ispirazione: James Mongrain in the George R. Stroemple Collection, is on view at the Museum of Glass, Tacoma through October 15, 2017.